To preserve Hong Kong’s status as international financial hub, checks and balances must remain

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Hong Kong’s governing elite has got to stop deluding itself and recognise that it needs to prove to the world that its institutions and governance are up to the standards expected of an international financial hub. That means demonstrating competent governance, proper regulatory enforcement where necessary, and following internationally recognised standards on business ethics and conflicts of interest.

Hyperbolic statements about being the “gateway to China” or the huge “potential of the Greater Bay Area” do not cut it with the investors and the professionals that really matter.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee’s comments about the potential removal of stamp duty for mainland buyers were, for a senior member of an international financial hub’s Executive Council, at best naive and at worse woefully ignorant. She must have known what the consequences of her words could be – if she didn’t, she should have done.

The Legislative Council, as part of Hong Kong’s system of governance, is supposed to provide checks and balances to the Hong Kong executive arm – Ip was very clear about that when the debate over the term “separation of powers” was raging a while ago.

She is a member of both the executive and legislature, which means she cannot provide those checks and balances and, as such, she has a conflict of interest. Being a member of the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling and, at the same time, being a member of the advisory council to the executive that will decide on whether that land should be used for public housing, is also a conflict of interest.

It is true that in some parliamentary systems, all or nearly all cabinet ministers are also in the legislature, but that is no problem if the legislature is democratically elected and the powers of checks and balances can be kept intact. This is not the case in Hong Kong.

Being a self-anointed patriot should not exclude you from adhering to internationally recognised standards on such conflicts – every corporation and professional body will tell you that the mere perception of a conflict is enough for it to be taken seriously; the government must follow that same standard.

If Mrs Ip and her colleagues want people to believe that the “patriots-only” system of governance is not an elitist club that will do anything to look after its own interests, then they need to act like they believe it themselves.

Lee Faulkner, Suffolk, UK

Roadwork completion date mustn’t be moving target

Many visitors to Sai Kung over the last few years will be aware of the roadworks going on along Hiram’s Highway which makes visiting Sai Kung by car or public transport an excruciating experience.

Well, the Transport Department places large notices at the roadworks to tell the public when to expect the works to be completed. In large letters they show the commencement date, the anticipated completion date and the original completion date, no doubt to demonstrate accountability and good stewardship to the public, a noble gesture.

But what many visitors will not be aware of is that each time the completion date is missed, the project team changes the original completion date too to match the new target completion date, so it looks like the project is still on target.

At the foot of Hing Keng Shek, between Marina Cove and Pak Sha Wan/Hebe Haven, workers are building a roundabout and this has happened, not once or twice, but now seven times. The work started in January 2017 and was originally scheduled to be completed by December 2020. When that target was missed, the date was moved to April 2021, then July, October, December and so on into 2022.

Now the completion date has been moved to December this year. Miraculously the original completion date was moved each time, to make us think the work is still on schedule.

It’s not the delay that annoys me most, it’s the deception. Who is responsible for this? Is the Transport Department lying to the government or is the government approving this and lying to us, or are both ignorant of the deception and just not checking project management reports properly?

Alastair Murray, Sai Kung

Time to help one another as unemployment rises

I refer to the letter, “Social schemes in city provide essential help” (August 9). Indeed, we all need help, not just the grass-roots residents. Life has become incredibly hard for everybody in Hong Kong.

Many have lost their jobs in the pandemic. In April, 470,000 residents applied for a one-off relief grant under the Temporary Unemployment Relief scheme. Processing of the applications concluded earlier this month, with 350,000 applicants receiving the grant. These large numbers are disheartening. Imagine the same number of families being in dire straits.

Those who have kept their jobs are not faring well either. The second iteration of the consumption voucher scheme that was introduced at the beginning of the year came at a time of soaring food and other prices. Now the average housewife can only afford to shop with discounts in supermarkets and other outlets. Those with scant resources have to resort to fast or junk food that is detrimental to health.

The economy is in recession. With production and living costs continuing to rise, we can expect more belt tightening.

As a responsible Hongkonger, I try to donate and share resources whenever I can. We should all do our part to help one another overcome the challenge.

Jacqueline Kwan, Mid-Levels